Man pleads not guilty to P'town hate crime

Tuesday

May 26, 2009 at 12:44 PM

A judge in Orleans District Court has rejected a prosecutor’s request for a $10,000 cash bail for Eric Patten, the 20 year old charged with assaulting two young gay women in Provincetown over the weekend.

Mary Ann Bragg

ORLEANS - A judge in Orleans District Court has rejected a prosecutor’s request for a $10,000 cash bail for Eric Patten, the 20 year old charged with assaulting two young gay women in Provincetown over the weekend.

Instead Judge Brian Merrick decided to maintain the existing $1,000 bail requirement, after Patten’s attorney used the professional status of his parents as a partial assurance for future court appearances.Patten pleaded not guilty as his arraignment this morning on a charge of assault and battery under the state hate crime statute. He is also charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a window), assault and battery on a police officer, malicious destruction of property over $250, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

At around 1:08 a.m. Saturday morning in Provincetown pedestrians alerted police to a fight on Commercial Street at the Post Office Café, an eatery in the center of town. Police saw Patten punching a woman on the ground, according to police Sgt. Carrie Lopes. The victim was one of two women, ages 22 and 23, who were allegedly assaulted by Patten. He is accused of punching one of the women with his right fist and calling the two women “faggots,” thinking they were gay men.

Young gay women roughly between the ages of 18 and 24 – mostly with college, post-college and military backgrounds - generally vacation in Provincetown each year over the Memorial Day weekend. During the altercation on Sunday, one of the victims was pushed against a window at the restaurant. Both women were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. One of the women cut her leg during the attack and had to get seven stitches to close the wound, according to a prosecutor. Patten also battled with the police, kicking one and spitting on another, Lopes said.

Patten’s father is attorney Edward Patten of Dennis. His mother lives in Winthrop and teaches at Salem State College, defense attorney Edward Veara told the judge.

“Both parents fully intend to support Eric,” Veara said in court. “He’s going to be back here. They will take responsibility.”

Eric Patten was planning to spend his second summer in Provincetown this year, staying alone at his father’s condominium in town, Veara said. He is a student at the University of Colorado and worked for the Dolphin Fleet of Provincetown whale watch company last summer, Veara said. He planned to work at a shop and in a restaurant this summer.

Veara blamed Patten’s overuse of alcohol for actions that Veara called “completely out of character” for the young man. Veara suggested that because his client is under-age there may be further investigation in how Patten obtained the alcohol.

Patten will move to Winthrop as part of the conditions of his release to his parents, Veara said. Judge Merrick also placed Patten on pretrial probation with the condition that he stay away from Provincetown and the alleged victims and prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages. He must also submit to alcohol screenings.

The prosecutor in the case maintained that while Patten had no prior criminal record in Massachusetts he does have out-of-state criminal charges from 2008. The out-of-state charges include driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of marijuana, among others. The status of the cases was not known, the prosecutor said.

In the court room this morning, Patten sat with his father in the back row and was taken briefly into custody and handcuffed during the court proceedings. He wore a light blue dress shirt and a tie. His head was shaved and he had a bruise behind his right ear. Afterward, he and his father declined comment.